Volunteer emotions and motivations during mega events: the case of Rio 2016 Olympics
(R2020-83441)

AUTHORS

Marcos Silva, Faculdade Instituto de Administração; Andres Veloso, University of Sao Paulo; Marcelo Silva, University of São Paulo; Guilherme Shiraishi, Universidade de São Paulo

KEYWORDS

Volunteer; Emotions; Motivations

ABSTRACT

Two studies analyze volunteer emotions and motivations in the context of mega events. Study 1 shows that volunteers experienced 4 main motivations, in line with what was previously reported in other Olympic Games study (Bang, Alexandris & Ross, 2009). These motivations can be used in order to help future organizers attract volunteers. Study 2 presented the main problems faced by volunteers during their experience. By going deeper into the negative emotions that volunteers faced we can highlight several managerial suggestions that could boost morale within the volunteer group such as an active hotline for volunteers; the existence of a system in place to solve issues volunteers have with their work equipment; and work with volunteers during the process of their exiting role (Gellweiler, Fletcher, & Wise, 2019), allowing for more positive emotions to arise and improve chances of volunteering in the future.